The present invention relates generally to hosiery displaying devices and, more particularly, to such devices adapted for hanging display of a plurality of hosiery articles, e.g., from a conventional retail display fixture.
One preferred means of displaying hosiery articles, e.g., pairs of socks in retail establishments is to suspend the socks from a display fixture using a hanger device which leaves all or a substantial portion of the hosiery article exposed. This method permits the potential purchaser to touch and examine the hosiery articles as well as offering the potential purchaser an immediate visual basis of comparison between various hosiery articles on display so that the purchaser may readily determine the appropriate color, fabric and construction of the hosiery article desired to be purchased.
A number of hanger devices have been proposed for displaying hosiery articles in this fashion. One conventional hanger device is a single plastic hook having a hole at the lower end of the hook for receiving a plastic fastener inserted through a folded pair of hosiery to be suspended. While this form of hanger device achieves the aforementioned advantage of leaving the hosiery article substantially exposed for customer inspection, the hanger device is capable essentially only of displaying a single pair of hosiery, whereas in contrast retailers prefer to package hosiery in multiple pairs as a means of increasing sales volume and revenues.
Accordingly, another conventional type of hosiery display device in common use in retail establishments comprises a clear plastic bag in which pairs of hosiery articles are contained and suspended by a one-piece plastic display hanger which supports an upper margin of the plastic bag. While this form of display device satisfies the retail objective of packaging multiple hosiery pairs, the use of a plastic bag prevents the customer from being able to touch and feel the hosiery articles prior to purchase.
A popular form of improved hosiery displaying device which overcomes the disadvantages of these earlier devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,957. This patent discloses a hanger assembly capable of supporting multiple pairs of hosiery articles in suspended disposition from a conventional sock retailing display fixture. The hanger assembly basically includes an elongate main body portion and a longitudinally centered hook-shaped fixture attachment portion integrally formed from plastic. The main body includes a plurality of sock attachment openings spaced along the longitudinal extent in balanced relation to the hanging axis HA of the main body whereby a corresponding plurality of hosiery pairs may be attached to the main body at the attachment locations via a plurality of plastic fasteners.
While the hanger assembly of this patent has met with significant commercial success, one disadvantage is that care must be taken to align the pre-formed openings in the device with the gun utilized to shoot fasteners through the hosiery and then through the hanger device in order to insure that the fasteners pass through the pre-formed openings. Also, the pre-formed openings may need to be located differently to accommodate different sizes and types of hosiery articles.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved hosiery displaying device which incorporates all of the advantages and features of the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,957, while improving the ease of use thereof and otherwise providing additional advantageous features.
The present invention achieves this objective by providing a hosiery displaying device basically comprising a main body having a hosiery attachment region defined by a multiplicity of openings formed through the main body in an array extending in both a longitudinal extent and a transverse extent of the main body, with each opening being of a configuration adapted for extension therethrough of a fastener element for securing an article of hosiery to the main body. In this manner, the arrayed multiplicity of openings simplifies and speeds the process of attaching hosiery articles to the device by eliminating the need to precisely align any individual opening with a fastener attachment gun or other device. The multiplicity of openings additionally enables the device to accommodate hosiery articles of different sizes and types without specially providing for different placement of the fastener openings.
In a preferred embodiment of the present hosiery displaying device, the arrayed multiplicity of openings are arranged in the form of a grid wherein the openings are generally uniformly spaced relative to one another, e.g., in longitudinal rows and traverse columns, by a distance less than the size of an individual one of the openings. Preferably, the main body of the hosiery displaying device is generally planar and of a regular geometric shape with the array of openings disposed generally symmetrically of the longitudinal extent of the main body. For example, it is particularly preferred that the main body be generally rectangular and the array of openings be correspondingly rectangular and centered symmetrically with respect to the main body.
According to another feature of the present invention, the hosiery displaying device further comprises a hanger portion extending from the main body generally centrally with respect to the longitudinal extent thereof. For example, the hanger portion may preferably comprise a hook-shaped projection from the main body, defining an entrance slot extending angularly away from the main body for receiving a hanging support, e.g., a retail display rod, for suspension of the main body therefrom. The hook-shaped projection preferably comprises a flexible hook portion yieldable to open the entrance slot, thereby to accommodate placement of the device onto and removal from a retail display rod or other hanging support.
Another feature of the present invention provides a stabilizing portion extending from the main body opposite the hanger portion for supporting engagement with an article of hosiery when secured to and suspended from the main body. Preferably, the stabilizing portion is generally U-shaped with respect to the main body.